The present invention relates to the integration of on-line analytical processing (OLAP) technology into computer software accounting products. In particular, the invention enables the consolidation of accounting data among multiple companies that have different beginning and ending fiscal calendars.
In the past, when viewing consolidated statements that have come from aggregations having companies with different beginning and ending calendars, information requested over a given time period did not account for the different calendars. This resulted in inaccurate information being reported for the time period of interest.
In designing an integrated system to introduce OLAP functionality in accounting applications, it is important to provide a seamless transfer of data between the accounting transaction database and the OLAP multidimensional database. This should be accomplished transparently to the end user at the conclusion of transactional processing. Moreover, it would be advantageous to provide an implementation that enhances the granularity of data that an accountant can analyze. Such an implementation should incorporate accounting requirements including retained earnings, net income, and companies that have different fiscal calendars.
When designing a multidimensional database application, the designer must specify a set of dimensions. Each dimension will contain a set of elements. The elements within a dimension can be organized in a hierarchy. This design effort is analogous to the design effort that takes place when designing a relational database application. In the case of relational database applications, the result of the design effort yields a database schema. In a multidimensional database, the result yields a xe2x80x9ccubexe2x80x9d. Relational databases use internally defined xe2x80x9ckeysxe2x80x9d to provide the end user with the ability to request values very quickly. In the multidimensional database, values (such as an accounting balance) are provided by specifying an element for each dimension.
The flexibility and usefulness of the analysis and reporting in a multidimensional database will depend on the design and contents of the cube. The present invention provides an OLAP xe2x80x9cAccounting Cubexe2x80x9d with unique design characteristics including:
1. The design of a Time dimension that incorporates a mechanism for handling a set of companies that use different fiscal calendars, and accommodates the unique requirements of retained earnings and net income reporting; and
2. The design of a Balance and Value dimension that defines a set of elements that allow for a very flexible and powerful reporting and analysis environment. The accounting cube represents the actual multidimensional database that stores metadata and balances that have been replicated from a host accounting application.
In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided for operating a computer system to manage accounting information of entities having different fiscal calendars. A user input is received in said computer system requesting consolidated accounting information for at least two entities that maintain accounting data according to respective calendars. Calendar information of said entities is mapped to a base calendar maintained in said computer system. Calendar elements from said base calendar are then used instead of calendar elements from the entity calendars to recover, for a specified time period, accounting information maintained in said computer system for the entities.
The calendar information for at least two of the entities can be based on a different fiscal year. In such a situation, the mapping and use of the base calendar are preferably performed by said computer system in a manner that is transparent to a user requesting the consolidated accounting information. In such an embodiment, the computer system will provide the consolidated accounting information to the user without further user intervention, and without the user even having to know that the disparate calendars have been accounted for by reliance on a base calendar maintained by the computer system.
Once the appropriate accounting information is recovered by the computer system in response to a user input and the xe2x80x9cbehind the scenesxe2x80x9d processing performed by the computer, the recovered accounting information for the entities is consolidated. The consolidated information is then presented to the user, e.g., in the form of a report that is displayed on a monitor or which is printed or otherwise output for review by the user.
The consolidated information can comprise, for example, a consolidation for the specified time period of at least one of net income and retained earnings for the entities. Moreover, the computer system can provide on-line analytical processing and consolidation of the accounting information in response to user inputs.
A computer system is disclosed for managing accounting information of entities having different fiscal calendars. The computer system comprises memory for storing accounting data for at least two entities. Each of the entities maintains its accounting data according to a respective calendar. A user interface is provided for enabling a user to request consolidated accounting information for the entities. Means are provided for mapping accounting data and/or calendar information maintained according to the respective calendars of the entities to a base calendar maintained in said computer system. A processor is provided for accessing the accounting data according to the base calendar instead of the entity calendars to recover, for a specified time period, accounting information responsive to a user request entered via the user interface. The processor consolidates the accounting information for the different entities according to the base calendar.
Typically, the calendar information for at least two of the entities will be based on a different fiscal year. The mapping means and processor correlate the different fiscal years to the base calendar for presentation in a manner that is transparent to a user requesting said consolidated accounting information.
The computer system in the illustrated embodiment is responsive to a user input received via the user interface for consolidating the recovered accounting information for the entities and reporting the consolidated information to a user. The consolidated information can comprise a consolidation for the specified time period of at least one of net income and retained earnings for the entities. Moreover, the computer system can provide on-line analytical processing and consolidation of the accounting information in response to user inputs.